Many thanks (t-shirts, etc.) to FatWallet member gfgray for compiling this information! Thanks to ALL who contributed in the original thread.

Please PM nunaliorte with more suggestions!

More questions about Hot Deals? Contact Us!


Help! What do all these acronyms mean?!
A few of our most common acronyms are listed below. For a more complete list, see our FAQ.

B&M – Brick and mortar store (A physical retail store as opposed to an online merchant)
B1G1 or BOGO – Buy one get one free
BF - Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving. Sales on BF show if stores will profit on the year (run in the black))
Bump - Replying to a thread to move it to the top of a forum to make it more prominent
BVG - Best Value Guarantee (see below)
DD - Deal discussion
FAR - Free after rebate
FS - free shipping
MIR – Mail in rebate
OOS - Out of stock
OP - Original poster (author of thread) or original post (first post in thread)
PM – Price match OR private message
SKU - Stock Keeping Unit (Unique product ID number assigned by the retailer)
SPAM - Unwanted commercial e-mail advertisements, usually unsolicited Your legislators can stop SPAM!
S/H – Shipping and handling
TOS - Terms of service
YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary

What do those icons mean?
= expired deal, 10+ users have voted this "dead"
= locked, this topic has been closed by a moderator
= no new posts
= new posts

How does a thread get marked Hot/Dead/Locked?
A thread is marked "Hot" depending on how many views it gets in a certain period of time, "Dead" when enough FW members flag the deal as dead, and "Locked" when a forum moderator decides that the thread doesn't conform to forum guidelines.

Forum Guidelines

Self-promotion, referral links, and auctions are not allowed. If you would like to advertise on FatWallet, please contact advertise@fatwallet.com. To remove the opportunity for abuse, we will not allow links to competing websites. However, we do not restrict users from stating where they found information in their message.

Treat other forum members with respect. Please don’t flame others. We are all here for the same purpose - to find hot deals and to share the deals we find.

Please refrain from using vulgar and/or explicit language.

If you are not a child (mentally), ignore this one. Don't post for the sake of increasing your post count such as posts like "In bfore the lock". People can tell how intelligent/mature you are by your words irrespective of how many posts you have made. (misspelling intentional)

If you find that a post violates forum guidelines, please use the moderator alert button to bring it to the attention of forum moderators. No need to make a useless post to a thread that will be locked or moved anyway.


I think I found a hot deal and want to post it.

Search the fatwallet forums to see if it has been posted already! Read the search tips for techniques on performing more advanced searches.

Include store name/location, product, price, and conditions (coupon, price match, subscribe for a year, etc.) in the title so people can quickly determine if your deal fits their profile. PLEASE use the real store name to improve search-ability and reduce reposts!

To get an idea of how "hot" your deal is, compare your price to Pricewatch.com or eBay. You don't have to beat the Pricewatch price by very much because usually products from those companies are not retail and have very limited warranties.

Don't put POLL in the title unless you are taking a POLL. Don't take a poll in the Hot Deals forum.

Post in the correct forum ex. "Hot Deals", "Online Auctions", "Deal Discussion"

The following types of posts DO NOT belong in the Hot Deals: "Check your email for a coupon", "Weekly ad for company x is out", "I just got a coupon from Company X in snail mail."


Hot Deals Etiquette...

Never call a store to see if a price is correct, if a deal will work, or if a rebate will go through. Thousands of phone calls will throw up red flags at the retailer and kill the deal. Post your question on Fatwallet and let an experienced member answer. There is risk involved in many deals.

No coupon begging! To request coupon codes, go to One Time Use Coupons.

Likewise, no begging for referrals or employee purchase codes

Discuss the deal...not the poster or the politics. Due to the wishes of the community, we no longer allow threads that contain political or religious deals. This is NOT the place to debate politics, and we certainly don't allow namecalling or personal attacks. Remember, discuss the DEAL.


Thread rating system
Voting is multi-purpose and subjective. People may vote on a post because they do, or do not like the content, the wording, the idea, or many other reasons. Therefore, we try not to interfere.

However, it is not acceptable to:
- stalk or harass other users with negative voting
- vote a good deal "dead" or "red" in an attempt to hide it

If the moderation team determines a problem with a member's voting, then we will do our best to communicate it by Private Message. If it happens repeatedly, voting abilities will be removed. If you do not abuse your rating privileges, you will likely keep them. Use your power wisely.


What is a repost?
If a deal is posted by a member, and another member posts the SAME deal, at the same (or extremely similar) price, from the same store, then it's a repost. The use of coupons, PMs, etc. doesn't make a "new" deal - those should be posted in the OP of the original thread.
If a deal is posted by a member, and another member posts a deal (or list) for the SAME item, but from DIFFERENT sources, it is not a repost of the deal. If the OP of the first thread EDITS their thread to include the information from the SECOND thread, then the FIRST thread is now a REPOST of the second thread, no matter what the time stamp on it is.
If people discuss buying the item at a different store than the OP lists, that sometimes qualifies for a new thread UNLESS the OP has *already* updated the thread with the info (in which case any new thread would be a repost.)


Price Match (PM)
Some retailers will let you buy an item at the (lower) price that a competitor is charging. Exact policies vary by store, and many stores or sales reps don't follow the policies to the letter. Since the implementation of PM policies are inconsistent, all deals involving a pricematch are your mileage may vary (YMMV). Finally, please be advised that abuse of Price Match and similar policies can lead to their demise.

Staples PM policy
Circuit City PM policy
Best Buy PM policy


Coupons / Coupon Codes
Most coupons can be found at The Official "Official Thread" Thread
One-time-use coupon codes including Dell SB coupon codes are found in the Online Coupon Trading forum.
The best way to get coupon codes is to open a business account(s) at a retailer who e-mails or mails out coupons and hope that one is sent to you. You will probably want to use/create an e-mail account specifically for SPAM for this purpose.





Expectations of Forum Tone & Behavior

Be nice.



You want more? Okay, I'll explain.

Be nice because it promotes better discussion. When people feel attacked they get defensive. The topic gets derailed onto personal issues, and productive discussion ends. Nobody wins here.

If you were sending a friend or family member to the forums, how would you want them to be treated?

Stick to the topic. Criticize the argument but not the individual. If you have a strong case, there's no need to attack the other person's character to make your point.*

And let me be clear, personal attacks aren't just direct namecalling. These are all attacks to the intelligence and character of the poster and not acceptable:
- "Even you can understand this."
- "Let me put this in simple terms you can understand."
- "Only an idiot would think that."
- "I think I lost IQ points just reading that."
- "I will not dignify that nonsense with a response."

Be respectful and bring value to the conversation. Explain your criticism. Differences of opinion are great! ...if both sides take the time to explain themselves. Don't just have a duck season/rabbit season argument.

Good examples:
- "I hate to burst your bubble, but that hard drive has gotten some pretty terrible reviews: Link"
- "Good price, but mine broke after a week"
- "Found it cheaper here: Link"
- "Rebate kills this deal. Company XYZ is notorious for not honoring their rebates."
- "I'll have to disagree. In my experience..."
- "Really? I was just reading this article that says the exact opposite..."

Want to avoid the drama and running afoul the moderation team? I'll let you in on this simple, time-tested strategy:

Be more polite than you think is necessary.


*Excellent video discussing "What You Said vs. Who You Are". Hint: You want to be having the first conversation. It has examples specific to discussing race, but the basic principle applies to any conversation.


General FAQ
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"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759



Please note: This thread is being locked to keep it as short and sweet as possible. Please PM nunaliorte with suggestions for improvment, or post in FatWallet Forum. Thanks for understanding!